Looking Glass
by Celestine Manning
Summary: Something Kat doesnt expect starts one day after school when her car breaks down... Katrick
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm pretending that Kat never decided to convert her car. Why? Because it doesn't fit with my story.

Disclaimer: 10 Thing I Hate About You doesn't belong to me. I'm just taking them out to play.

***

The school day had ended at Padua High and the only people who remained were busy attending their various practices. The campus seemed to be running like a calm, well oiled machine which is why the girlish form stalking angrily across the parking lot seemed so out of place. Kat had stayed after school to meet with a teacher about a test that she had questions on. As she stormed along she caught the attention of the only other person there who wasn't involved with an afterschool activity. Patrick Verona.

One of his hobbies had always been people watching. The absurdities that people got into on a daily basis provided hours of amusement for him. It was something that never got old. There were of course certain people that he watched more than others. Kat Stratford was one of them. He found her interesting. Entertaining. A little bit of a mystery. So when he saw her coming across the parking lot, shooting daggers from her eyes and making a beeline for her car he decided to stop and watch the show.

Kat strode angrily out of the building and towards her car. She couldn't believe some of the people who called themselves teachers here. The idiocy of her afterschool encounter had only been the icing on the cake of her very bad day. Her normal outlook could hardly be considered cheery and by now it was downright blood thirsty. If there had been anyone left to get in her way she would have gladly unleashed her anger upon them. Finally she reached her car, unlocking her door and getting in. She sat there for a moment before jamming her keys in and twisting. Her car made a sound as it tried to turn over and then with a loud clang and a shudder it stopped, expelling a large cloud of smoke from under the hood. In exasperation Kat let out a screech and slammed her head into the steering wheel in front of her.

Of course he was watching this. Part of him laughed a bit inside at seeing Kat Stratford, a person so normally in control abandoned by her car and on a day when she looked like she just really needed to get out of here. But the other part of him felt bad. It looked like her day had been crap and that she just wanted to go home.

It was official. Her car, her beloved car, the car she had nursed all the way from Ohio was officially, irreversibly dead. Immediately there were so many things streaking through her head that she was overwhelmed. A big thought was about her car. This thing was her baby, ever since she had picked it out at the back of the used car lot. If it was really and truly gone for good what was she going to do? Another though pounding through her head was how was she going to get home? Her day had already been so crappy, she didn't need this to happen too. As she sat there with her forehead pressed against the aged leather of her steering wheel she just wanted to let it out. She just wanted to let go and cry.

"It looks like you need some help there Kitten." His voice appeared next to her from outside the driver's side window.

She turned her head slightly, cracked an eye to look at him for a moment before shutting it again. "What do you want Verona. I'm not in the mood for your mocking today."

Her voice sounded strained to his ears. "Don't be so defensive Kitty, I'm not always out to get you. I actually came over her because I saw the temper tantrum your car threw and I thought I would help you out and take a look at it." He paused and watched her for a reaction.

"My name is Kat."

"Pop your trunk" he said with a smirk.

Damn him. Was the only thing she could think. Coming over here to witness her misery, bringing it to light and inserting himself into her business with his smoky voice and rogue-ish ways. Leaning over she grabbed a crowbar from under the passenger's seat, handing it to him.

As he accepted the crowbar his eyebrow cocked up in question. "It doesn't open normally?" his voice was a little shocked.

"This car is older than you. Don't expect great things." Her voice was missing its normal sarcastic quality as the strain of the day took its toll.

Patrick smirked as he went to go struggle with the hood of her car. He watched her head fall back onto the steering wheel. After prying the hood open and taking a look around inside he went back to tell her the news. "Well I've got some bad news for you."

The look Kat had on her face was one of resignation. "Well don't hold out on me. My baby's dead isn't it."

"Right now? Yeah. Yeah it is. But I think if you give me a week I might be able to resurrect her." His voice held a hint of pride.

"How do you know this much about cars?"

"My uncle runs a business and I'm in the shop class here at school."

"Well.." she spoke hesitantly. "Thanks for taking a look for me. I appreciate that."

He knew how much her gratitude was costing her. "No problem. Come on. I'll give you a ride home." The look that crossed her face was priceless in his mind.

"Are you out of your mind?" The bite in her voice was back. "That thing is a death trap. I want to live to tomorrow. Thanks anyway though."

"Oh so if I don't give you a lift home how exactly are you getting there?" He leaned against her car, smirking when he considered her options. She could accept a ride home with him on his motorcycle, wait until her sister Bianca got out of cheerleading practice and get a ride home with her and her dad after his work or walk. And if anything he bet she didn't want to go and walk home eight miles. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

"Well…" She paused. "I'll walk home. It's a gorgeous day out and a little exercise never hurt anyone. Maybe you should try it sometime Verona." What a laugh that was and she knew it. If anyone exercised regularly it was him. She knew she had caught herself admiring the way he filled out shirts once or twice.

"Nice try Kitten. You don't want to walk home and you know it." He positioned himself in her window, hulking down at her with his back rounded. Subtly flexing his muscles so as to fill out his tee just that little bit more. "Come on now. Let me drive you home. I promise nothing will happen to you. You know that you can trust me to get you there safe."

Her head cocked sarcastically to the side. "This coming from the man who is rumored to enjoy the taste of human flesh. How can I really be sure you won't steal me away somewhere so you can feast?"

A low laugh rumbled deep in his chest at that. He leaned through the window, crossing straight through her personal space, his long arms nearly brushing against her as he reached into the passenger's seat and snagged her bag. Withdrawing himself from the window he started walking towards his bike. "Come on Kat. Let me give you a ride home."

Her heart was pounding. He had been there so close to her, shattering her personal space and the funny thing was she didn't mind. As he walked away she sighed in resignation. Today was just not her day apparently. She climbed out of her car, following Patrick to the death trap he was so fond of. She watched him climb on and turn the key, bringing the beast to life. "Where's your helmet?" she said over the rumble of the engine.

"It was so nice today I went without. Don't worry Kitty; I won't let anything happen to you." He gestured for her to get on behind him.

There were two things right now that she would never admit to him. The first was that somewhere deep, deep inside she like when he called her pet names, even if she didn't think he always meant them in the nicest of ways. Second was that she was afraid of riding a motorcycle, even with him. "My name is Kat." She said stalling for time.

He looked at her smugly, silently calling her out. "Let's go, do you want your dad to wonder why your home so late?"

Sighing she conceded defeat. Throwing her leg over, she settled herself on the rumbling machine, carefully putting her hands on his waist. She didn't want him to get any ideas.

"You ready to go?" He looked over his shoulder at her.

Kat rolled her eyes. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Ok then, hold on." He revved the engine, taking off with a bit more force than really necessary. He was rewarded though when he heard her squeak slightly behind him and her hold on him increased. Now he could feel her hands splayed across his stomach, gripping his shirt as she tucked her head into his shoulder blade. Apparently she was actually afraid of something. He stored this knowledge away for later. He decided that he liked her this way. Not quite as punchy and raring to go as always, a little more likely to let him take the reins. He wondered what exactly in her day had caused this aura of defeat to settle on her.

They drove in silence across town until they reached Kats house. As he pulled up in front of it and killed the engine Kat stumbled off, almost ready to kiss the ground. She turned back to him almost feeling shy for a moment before regaining her usual attitude. "Thanks for the ride Patrick." She flashed him a small smile before turning and walking towards her house.

He watched her go. "Anytime" he said. "Anytime."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Soo some of you mentioned how you don't like that Patrick calls Kat pet names. Sorry guys, I don't care. Its part of my story and I like it :) if you don't like it then don't read it. The song I reference in this is L'Amour by Carla Bruni.

Also, sorry this chapter is so short. It was suppose to be at least twice as long but when I wrote the second half it just didn't fit with this one if they were put together.

Disclaimer: They're not mine. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.

***

Dinner that night had been… interesting. When her dad and Bianca had arrived home Bianca had been pestering him about a party that weekend that she just desperately had to go to. It distracted her dad to the point where he didn't even notice that Kats car wasn't in the driveway even though she was home. Thank god for small blessings Kat thought. She didn't really want to explain to him what exactly happened to her after school. That didn't last very long though. She knew her dad would have to be notified sooner or later that night. He would after all have to drive them to school the next day. Deciding that over dinner was the best way to do it she sat down at the table, bracing herself for the conversation.

xxx

She lay on her bed, sprawled across the sheets, staring blankly at her ceiling as she went through the events of her day. It started with Bianca making them late because her hair had to be just right and it just went downhill from there. Her locker got stuck and took her so long to open it that she got a detention for being late to English. The girl who sits behind her in Math spent the entire class talking to her friend and kicking the back of her chair. The cafeteria didn't have a vegetarian option today and when she stayed after to talk to a teacher about a paper she was told in great detail everything that was wrong with her paper and why. Figures, she though scowling. The teacher was such a pig headed male he probably felt threatened by her feminist views and ability to actually write a decent paper. And then to top off her positively crummy day her car, her beloved, totally rockin', older than dirt car that had nursed her from her ghastly learners permit days all the way to the multi day journey from Ohio to Padua with her and Bianca in the car had come down with something. With a loud, angry cloud of smoke her baby had given up. And she had thought that her day couldn't get any worse.

Not everything was completely horrible though. After her car had refused to start an oddity happened. Patrick Verona had appeared offering to fix her car. Patrick Verona. Resident bad boy. Super hot motorcycle god. Rumored cannibal/mass murderer/ son of a drug lord. Not only had he offered to fix her car for her but he had driven her, on the back of his motorcycle, calling her infuriating pet names the entire time. But he had offered to fix her car and drive her home. Her father hadn't taken the news well. He had been kind of expecting for some time now that her car wouldn't last through the year without some kind of mishap he just did expect it to be so soon or so extensive. He was relatively ok with her car breaking down since it was expected. When her dad found out how she got home however? That was a different story.

"_You let a boy take you home?!"_

Kat could still hear her father's outrage ringing in her ears. It would have gone over better if Bianca hadn't asked her how riding his motorcycle had been. After years though she knew how to deal with her father.

She sighed, wiggling slightly to adjust herself on her bed. She could feel her muscles slowly untwisting, the knots relaxing out as she sunk further into the mattress. Her ipod was on shuffle and clicked over to the next song. The gentle strains and lilting French words wrapped around her room, quietly lulling her almost to sleep. She was lying there, warm and sleepy, letting her mind drift along with the song. She was enjoying that stage before sleep where you know everything is alright. A slight tapping noise sounded from the vicinity of her window but she ignored it. Probably a tree branch tapping, or a squirrel doing something. Her mind continued to float until she heard it again. A louder, more forceful tap on her window from the outside caused her to jerk upright. She had been so close to sleep that for a moment she was disoriented. Stumbling up from her bed she approached her window cautiously, trying to peer into the dark outside. She hit a switch, clicking on the outside light and had to stifle a gasp when there outside her window was Patrick Verona.

***

A/N: The songs that influenced this chapter were L'Amour –Carla Bruni and Annan Water –The Decemberists


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: as you may notice while reading this story I have taken some of the events that actually happened in the show and used them in this chapter. Personally I found that parts of this chapter came very easily and were a pleasure to write. Others caused me to rip my hair out and plead with the words to work. Overall I am happy with how things came out but a couple spots I'm still a little wary about I just cant figure out how to make them better.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine.

***

Her mind swirled in confusion. Was this a dream? Why would Patrick Verona be outside her window? Her father, oh no, if he found out about this… she pulled up the window roughly. Panic and confusion flashing across her face "What the hell are you doing here? It is 11 o'clock at night!"

A smile rested on his face taunting her as his hands braced himself against the window sill as he watched her. "Well isn't it obvious? I'm a vampire, I need permission to enter." His voice mocked her.

She felt flustered. What was going on? Why was this happening? He shouldn't be here. She bit off a retort. "Permission not granted!" Crap, crap, crap, what was she going to do? There could not be a boy in her bedroom least of all if that boy was Patrick Verona! If her father found out…

He spoke as he came through her window "Good thing I'm not really a vampire." His voice was all smoke and heat and then he was there. Standing in her room, watching her as his body blocked the window.

She grabbed her sweater, trying to cover herself up from gaze that was looking her up and down. "What is with the breaking and entering?"

"I had something I wanted to tell you" his voice lilted pleasingly as he crossed over to stand facing her. His eyes watched her fidgeting under his gaze.

"Can I borrow your…" Bianca burst into her room, her hair in curlers, her timing impeccable as always. "A male, in your bedroom. And hes cute! Am I sleepwalking again?"

Kats mind went into overdrive, her heart racing in her chest. No, no this can't be happening. First Patrick Verona in her room and then Bianca appearing too. She needed to do something and she needed to do it fast. She grabbed Bianca by the arm almost dragging her into the room and shutting the door. "Shhh! Dad is going to hear you!" Her voice squeaking higher.

"Girls?" Kat could hear her father's voice calling for them as he walked up the stairs. Shit! Patrick was here. Bianca knew. She rushed towards him, grabbing his arm and pulling. "Crap!Get out! Get out! You have to go!" She pushed him towards the window as her heart raced in her chest.

xxx

After Kat had heard her father coming up the stairs she had pushed him hurriedly out the window. He climbed out, ducking to the side and sitting down, blatantly eavesdropping on what was going on inside the room. Frantic whispering was going on between Kat and Bianca. "Please B, don't tell dad! Next party you want to go to I'll drive you. No complaining, no mocking."

"Well I do love a juicy secret…"

He heard the door open again. "Girls?" He assumed it was her father. "Did I hear something going on in here?"

Bianca's voice spoke up. "I was just coming in to see if I could borrow a pair of Kats earrings that I wanted to wear to school tomorrow. That's all."

"Are you sure that's all? You look flushed Kat. Are you coming down with something?" Her dad's voice sounded concerned as it moved from by the door towards the girls inside.

"Yeah dad, I feel fine. I'll crack a window or something to cool the room down."

"Kat… honey… your window is open."

Her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't believe she had made such a rookie mistake. What was going on with her? "Oh yeah I guess it is. Maybe there is a virus or something going around school."

"Well we'll take you to the doctors tomorrow if you're still not feeling well. Ok Kit-Kat?"

"I bet I'll be fine. Whatever it is I couldn't justify going to the doctors when there are kids in Africa who don't even know what a doctor is. I think I'm just going to go to bed. Get some solid hours of sleep. I'm sure all be fine in the morning." She felt like she was babbling.

"Ok whatever Kat. I'll see you in the morning. Try not to take too long in the bathroom." Bianca's voice held just a bit of snot as she turned away towards the door and shot Kat a wink. And with that her dad and Bianca left. She didn't know where Patrick was and to be honest she didn't care anymore. He couldn't do this. He couldn't appear at 11 o'clock at night outside her bedroom window. God it was stressful. She shook her head in frustration. She was too tired to try and reason this out tonight. Sighing to herself she turned off her lights and climbed into bed, falling asleep quickly.

Patrick smirked as he climbed onto his motorcycle around the corner from the Stratford house. He started it up with a roar and wheeled out and away. As he traveled through the dark, quiet streets he could feel the wind rushing around his bike, whipping through his hair, his heart thumping and pumping blood in his chest, the after effect that was Kat lingering around him. She had been cute just coming out of sleep, all flustered and shocked. He had surprised her he could tell.

xxx

He was there waiting for her outside the school by where she usually parked her car. All curly, tousled hair and dark eyes. He seemed to smolder at her even from this far away. Something inside her tingled and fluttered foreignly. She watched as he crooked his finger at her, motioning for her to step towards him. She wanted too. Oh god did she want too. Her mind raced thinking about the pros and cons of stepping forward. The cons seemed to stack up higher than the pros but she didn't care. All she could think about was him, wanting to be near him, to have him touch her, to be able to touch him. she started walking forward, covering the ground between them seemed to take no time at all and before she knew it she was there, standing right in front of him, looking up at his face, into his eyes. He smirked slightly at her as if he knew the truth about the hold he was cultivating over her. His hand came up cupping her face gently, his thumb stroking her cheek as he leaned forward towards her, just like he had that night at the bar. His face grew closer and closer, only centimeters separated their lips now and she braced herself. Ready and completely willing to let him kiss her. His lips began to settle on hers, hot and hard and tender she felt herself melting into him. As his lips moved against hers she jerked, waking up completely disoriented from her dream. It started to filter back into her conscience as she grew more awake. As she remembered where she had been and with whom she groaned, frustrated, throwing herself back down on her bed. She buried her face in the pillow willing herself to fall back asleep. To maybe salvage the rest of her night before she had to face the world in the morning.


End file.
